What the Cards Have to Say
by Satsuki Takahashi
Summary: Ayase Eri was bothered. Really very bothered. She didn't know what to do. It was the first time it ever happened. NozoEri. (If you watch the OP song closely, you might have a clue of where this idea came from.)


What the Cards Have to Say

Toujou Nozomi x Ayase Eri (NozoEri)

A/N: Ayase Eri was bothered. Really very bothered. She didn't know what to do. It was the first time it ever happened.

**Disclaimer: This is my first Love Live! Fanfic, also my first anime fanfic in 2 years and a half. Please be gentle.**

Ayase Eri was worried. No, no, she was bothered too. Worried and bothered. She tried to focus on her task, looking through heaps of papers that needed her signature and stamp on it. She glanced sideways and swallowed, trying not to sigh.

Nozomi had been sitting there, silent and staring at a card in her hand. She didn't look like she had some problem; if she did, it didn't show on her face. But Nozomi being quiet is trouble for Eri.

She didn't know how to deal with a silent Nozomi, who, obviously, was trying to deal with something Eri didn't know about.

School ended; the day felt longer than usual. She was glad there wasn't any training today, but she had a gut feeling that even if there was, Nozomi would avoid going because of this silent problem she couldn't put her tongue on. Eri felt wrong to be just going home and relaxing in her bed; she wanted to know what was wrong with Nozomi, but it was too late to ask now.

"_Why did I only get the courage to ask now?"_ She put a hand on her face and pivoted back into the Student Council Room. "Of course she wouldn't be here."

She considered doing more papers, but she knew that Nozomi would know if she had done some more and that wouldn't make her any happier. She smiled to herself and left the school for home.

Toujou Nozomi, Otonokizaka Academy Student Council Vice President Extraordinaire, Washi Washi Max, Expert, Modern Day Ninja (AKA Chasing Someone Without Running), Sweeper Miko was never bothered by something until yesterday.

"_Stupid cards."_ She clutched her bag tighter and walked briskly towards the shrine. Today, she was going to draw a fortune; if it gave her good luck, then she'd pursue it. She'd pursue it only, if only it had good chances. She couldn't risk something so big…

Nozomi climbed the stairs to the temple. Upon reaching the top, she sighed and placed a hand to her chest. Not far from the top, she heard the rattling of something and turned her head to the direction of its sound. She sighed again. _"Straight to the source of the problem, huh?" _She walked towards the wishing well and smiled upon the blonde that turned around.

"N- Nozomi!" Eri held a hand to her chest and sighed, "That surprised me."

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Nozomi grinned at her. "You never come here. Is there something bothering you?"

"_You." _Eri flushed at her own thoughts and looked away. "I was wishing for better days for μ's."

"You were never a good liar, were you?" Nozomi smiled, and then walked closer to Eri, slowly taking her hand with her. "Come here~"

"E- eh?" Eri followed, letting that gentle hand take her. The two of them silently walked to the side of the shrine where small boxes were lined up from 1 to 300, ten horizontally and thirty vertically. "What's this?"

"This is where you take your fortune. It's called o-mikuji." Nozomi neared the boxes and picked up a hexagonal cylinder with a small hole in the middle. "Put out your hand." She smiled.

Eri, puzzled, did as she was told. Nozomi then shook the cylinder until a stick came out of it towards Eri's hand.

"You then look for the number, open it, take your fortune, then put the stick back in." Nozomi instructed, Eri walked nearer to the boxes and looked for her number.

"214... Ah, here." Blue eyes scanned the box meticulously, opened it and then gazed at the paper. "This is... Fortune for the year, right?"

Nozomi smiled, "Un, that's true. Basically your fortune for everything; health, love, career, and everything else. " She tapped a similar stick to her jaw and muttered a short 'Ah, here' when she found her number and took her fortune.

"Is there something to dispel bad luck?" Eri asked with a wry smile and held her paper to Nozomi.

The oddly twin tailed part-time Miko nodded and pointed at a rack where papers were tied on. "You tie them there." She led the way by walking to it first and encouraging the other girl to tie it.

Eri complied with a smile and then turned to her companion. "What did you get?"

Nozomi looked at the paper again and smiled. She motioned for Eri to lean down a bit, so she can whisper to her ear what she got.

The blonde tilted her head to one side in confusion but lowered her body anyway. The moment she expected the whisper to come, something mildly rough pressed to her lips with the shape of another pair.

Nozomi smiled in triumph at the mark of surprise on Eri's face. She gently grabbed the blonde's wrist and settled the paper there. "Why don't you take a look at it for yourself?" She then turned around to go home, leaving her favorite blonde baffled, surprised, and speechless. _"Wish everyone could have seen that face but I don't mind it if it's going to be our little secret~" _

"Oneechan. Oneechan!" Eri looked up from the book in front of her, then sideways to her sister, Arisa. "Are you okay? I've been shaking you for a long while."

"Oh, I- I'm sorry. I just—" Eri, sighed and felt for the paper under the next page of her open book.

"Is there something bothering you?" Arisa raised an eyebrow. "You're bright red, Oneechan."

"Oh, I- it's nothing…" Eri swallowed then smiled at her sister. "Is there anything you need?"

"Umm, what about you? Dinner?"

Then a soft growl of a stomach. Laughter.

Ayase Eri stood in front of the Student Council Room and sighed. She didn't know if Nozomi was already there or not. If she was what would she tell her; if she wasn't, when would she come!? Eri didn't know how to deal with this Nozomi and she didn't know how to deal with hers—

"Washi washi~" a voice whispered into Eri's ear, making the blonde jump up in surprise, her ears immediately turning red. Nozomi took this chance to open the council door and push the both of them inside.

In a fast swift motion, Nozomi pushed the taller blonde female onto the closed door and pressed herself to her body, both arms around her waist, her forehead on Eri's shoulder.

"Nozomi?"

"I don't need an answer," Nozomi started, biting her lower lip. "I just… want you to allow me to stay by your side."

"I—"

"I just need to be by your side." Nozomi looked up from Eri's shoulder, her green eyes staring intently at Eri's lips. "I don't need an answer…"

"I— Nozomi, I don't understa—"

Nozomi looked up from luscious lips, then to unfocused and confused blue eyes. "… I love you." Nozomi stepped backward and turned the knob of the room open.

Her eyes widened when a hand gripped her wrist tight, it almost hurt.

"You… You just can't tell me that and go away with your eyes like that." Serious blue eyes bore onto her green ones.

"_My eyes?"_ Unable to focus on the emotions of those blue eyes, green ones looked away.

Eri softly pried away her hand from the knob and pulled her into a hug. A protective one with her strong arms around her body.

"You know I'm clumsy. I don't know much about this world. I _need_ you to look after me." Eri spoke directly into Nozomi's ear. "I… I don't have an answer for you yet, I'm sorry."

"You don't—"

"Ssshh. But… I can't stand it, when your eyes are sad, like that," Eri spoke and separated them for a bit, looking into green eyes. "I don't want you to tell me you love me and be sad."

"_What a stubborn person."_ Nozomi smiled, and looked up to expecting blue eyes. "I love you."

Eri smiled and nodded.

"What did the cards say?"

Unexpectedly, Nozomi blushed.

Ayase Eri was confused now.

"It's a secret," Nozomi answered and then opened the door. "Classes are starting. Let's go."

"In the end, we didn't get any job done in the morning…"

"Isn't it still a mission accomplished?"

"True." Eri smiled and patted Nozomi's head. "That's true."

"Don't treat me like a child or else…" She held up her skillful fingers and moved them into different taunting motions.

"… Not that, please…"

At home, lying on Nozomi's table was the upright _Lovers Arcana_ involving a reversed _Empress Arcana _and theupright _Justice Arcana_.

"_Love will come (upright Lovers) with a female who has too much on her shoulder (reversed Empress), decision making is needed to pursue this romance. Whichever decision you make, the next step will still rely on a fortune for luck. (upright Justice)_"

**_(END/ What the Cards Have to Say)_**

A/N: I did the fortune with playing cards. So I tried to research (on a whim) how to convert it to Tarot (since it's what Nozomi does). I tried. It's a three card spread, so it should work if the point person (Gemini-Nozomi-Lovers in upright) gets the other two for a fortune of love. Okay, that's confusing anyway.

You guys wanna guess what Nozomi got for the O-mikuji fortune? XD If anyone (at all) gets it correct, I guess I'll have to write the second part, explaining it.

Note: Special Thanks to **Divine Vengeance** for PR-ing this piece of work! **peace sign everywhere**


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